The he U.S. House of Representatives passed S. 204, the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act. This legislation increases terminally ill patients’ access to experimental drugs that have not yet been approved or licensed by the FDA. Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) issued the following statement lauding the bill’s passage:

“Today, the House of Representatives delivered new hope to patients fighting for their lives. Stunning new cures in medicine occur each and every day, and patients deserve the right to try any and all available treatments, including treatment options still in the final approval process. The federal government has no place denying terminally-ill patients the opportunity for survival, especially when there are hundreds of potential treatments stuck in the FDA’s pipeline. As a physician, I am proud to support the Right to Try Act – a bill that will bring hope and relief to families plagued by terminal illness across the United States.”

Letters to Editor

Hmmm….anything which Tea Party, NRA supported, hard right Congressional “Freedom” Caucus member Harris supports, raises red flags. Here is what Sicence magazine wrote of him when he was rumored to be a candidate for the head of NIH : “Some researchers are concerned about how Harris might approach human embryonic stem cell research. In 2005, when Harris was a member of the Maryland legislature, he led an ultimately unsuccessful effort to derail legislation creating a state stem cell research fund. In the end, Maryland in 2006 became one of the first four states to establish such a fund.” And of course we in District 1 ca n never forget the fool he made of himself when first elected to Congress: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ethan-rome/tone-deaf-lawmaker-elect_b_784727.html